SMFC Museum Tour Notes
On Tuesday 20th
October 2015, John Kyrou, George Kouroumalis and myself (Paul Mavroudis) travelled
to several AFL club museums as part of preliminary research into the
establishment and possible layout of the proposed/planned South Melbourne FC
museum.
This document
contains descriptions of four AFL club museum/historical spaces; notes on the
relative strengths and weakness of each approach; and possible lessons that we
at South Melbourne can learn from each museum when it comes to finally (re-)creating
our own museum space.
None of the
suggestions and recommendations contained within this document are intended to
be viewed as final – rather, they are intended to provoke discussion about the
kind of museum and story that we would like to tell both to ourselves and to people
from outside the club.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn’s
museum was located upstairs from its club offices, in its own dedicated space.
Partly because of this, the Hawks were able to charge admittance ($2/$1) for
entry into the museum, though in addition to that they also have a ‘Friends of
the Museum’ group which, on payment of a $10 annual fee, allows members to
visit the museum as frequently as they wish – while also accumulating funds for
upkeep of the museum.
The museum space
consisted of a large central room containing most of the displays, as well as
an adjacent room containing honour boards and full sized portraits, and another
room for storage and the curator’s office. The displays in the main room were
impressive. The many display cabinets were filled with trophies, jerseys,
photographs, news articles, match programs and assorted merchandise. The walls
were filled with painted murals and profiles of important individuals from the
club’s history.
It is quite
obvious that along with the considerable expense and care provided to the
museum, Hawthorn has also established a very strong sense of trust with its
membership and supporter base (and its past players) to the effect that it has
been able to receive many different donations of valuable and rare items. This
sense of trust is the least immediately obvious but perhaps most important
feature of their museum.
Collingwood
Collingwood’s
museum was located in the main foyer of its main office space, with easy access
to both its reception desk and the club merchandise store. In comparison to the
Hawthorn museum, Collingwood’s space was far less cluttered and much more
minimalist. It had a dedicated wall for each of its premiership trophies, and a
small three sided display area for artefacts, which was largely centred on the
1990 premiership.
In that
sense the Collingwood museum was somewhat underwhelming, especially when one
considers the amount of material available at its disposal. However,
Collingwood’s use of black and white Perspex honour boards was a very effective
means of paying tribute to the contribution of players, volunteers and other
persons associated with the club. Collingwood’s black and white colours, used
badly, could have seen a real mess of an aesthetic style, but this was avoided
by the large open spaces and the thoroughly modern nature of its displays.
And while
Collingwood’s museum may have been small, the club also has an official digital
component to its historical wing (http://forever.collingwoodfc.com.au/),
providing information on a wide range of topics.
Carlton
Carlton’s
museum was more or less split into two parts, both as offshoots of its main
foyer/reception area. Their premiership cups were stacked in glass cabinets,
spaced out so that it reached all the way up to the top of the very tall
ceilings. While creating an imposing presence, the absurd height of the display
meant that many if not most of the trophies were inaccessible to the general
public.
Along the
corridor which lead to the gymnasium, a complex mosaic made up of custom made
tiles showcased many of the most important players and moments in the club’s
history. While aesthetically this was not to my taste, it was nevertheless a
very clever concept and a novel way of getting around one of Carlton’s main problems
when it comes to a museum display – their sonorous and overwhelming navy blue,
which is a difficult colour to make look lively in comparison to those
available to many other clubs.
Western Bulldogs
In contrast
with the other clubs, the Bulldogs lacked any sort of museum. This is
understandable, as the club has had far less success than the other cIubs which
we visited. Instead, along the passageway to the player rooms, in an offshoot
from the café/foyer, there was a decade by decade summary of the club’s history
along the wall. The opposite side of the wall contained their 1924 ‘champions
of Victoria’ flag. Within the limits of its own history and resources, this
wall was an effective means of displaying the club’s history, using the club’s
colour scheme in a very clever manner. In that sense, the Bulldogs were the
most effective at telling a linear story about their club, whereas for the
other three clubs the emphasis was on providing a visceral/emotional sense of
the relevant club’s culture and success.
Other notes
Aside from
the museum aspects of each club, attention was also paid to the other areas of
the front office space of the clubs. In all examples, natural light was an
important feature of the interior design. Clever and consistent use of club
colours was also an integral feature of each office. This was not merely
limited to signage and club personnel/employees in official merchandise, but
also in Carlton’s case as part of the aesthetic design of its café (including
furniture).
Club and corporate
branding was also prominent at each club, both inside and outside the main
entrances. These included full scale reproductions of famous moments in club
history, murals, statues, and prominent display of Hall of Fame members of
honour boards.
In all
cases, the club merchandise shops were open and prominent in the floor plan,
though Hawthorn’s was perhaps smaller due to limited office/floor space. While
this may not be an option for South Melbourne in the immediate future, due to
an at present limited fan base, smaller merchandise range and lower foot
traffic, it is worth considering the best way to include a merchandise stall
within the social club space.
With regards
to the office spaces of most of the clubs visited, with their very large
backroom operations it means that very few supporters will see most of the
office space. Even with much smaller staffing at South Melbourne, the office
space should still be rationalised in such a way that club reception/membership
services is given priority at the entrance to the building
Summary and possible directions for a
South Melbourne museum
While each
museum/historical space offered something different, Hawthorn’s museum was the
clear standout. Its dedicated space, as well as large and diverse collection of
artefacts set it apart from the others. In addition, its emphasis on working
with its supporter base to collect more items, as well having a museum
supporters group has undoubtedly set it up well for the future.
One weakness
which needed to be overcome, and was perhaps only completely successfully done
so in the case of Hawthorn, is that the AFL has a limited range of trophies on
offer. Nevertheless Hawthorn overcame this problem by including a range of
minor trophies, but principally through its large collection of artefacts.
A South
Melbourne Hellas museum, in the event that it is granted approximately 25
metres of wall space (as indicated in discussions), will be able to incorporate
the best of each of the AFL museums that were visited, while also tailoring it
both to the club’s culture and the artefacts and materials available at its
disposal. It is likely that the most effective way of using that space would be
to use glass cabinets for various displays and artefacts at a lower (waist high)
level, while perhaps including information displays on the walls behind them at
eye level.
It was
agreed that most prominence should be given to the national league titles and
Oceanian championship. While not ignoring the other achievements of the club,
it is these achievements which should be highlighted. While a more thorough
inventory is needed than the one undertaken when the old social club was packed
away, and though many items have gone missing over several decades, the club
nevertheless has a wealth of physical materials that could be displayed, from
the important to the ephemeral.
One aspect
which a properly designed social club and museum space will see the club
benefit is in showing that the club takes its history seriously, and thus
providing a sense to supporters and former players who may have valuable or
notable South Melbourne items in their possession that the club is able to take
care of them. This would have been a problem in the past, as record keeping of
such materials was relatively poor, and the former museum space was poorly laid
out and set up.
None of the
club museums we visited had any interactive or digital elements in their
spaces. The reasons for this are unknown. With the multimedia expertise
available at South Melbourne, this is an area which we believe that South
Melbourne could provide something novel in terms of a museum experience. While
at this moment in time it is a goal possibly out of reach in terms of the
resources at our disposal (as well as more immediate priorities), I believe that
a dedicated online portal for South Melbourne’s history, related to but
separate from the main site, would enhance both the overall historical record
keeping at the club, but also create a space for people to access our history
outside of a match day or visit to the club. While in some cases the lack of a
digital history portal at AFL clubs has been made up for by individuals or
supporter groups (such as Carlton’s Blueseum or Melbourne’s Demonwiki),
realistically, we do not have the size and kind of supporters that would be
able to create such a portal.
The
incorporation of a Bulldogs style wall history may well be part of the main
museum space, but it could also be used in others of the club rooms – in
corridors leading to and from the social club, or in the players’ race for
example. Its main strength is that it can provide a relatively cheap, concise
and efficient means of telling South Melbourne’s story.
Another
recommendation of our group is that while without wishing to go overboard with
the club’s ethnic past in the manner that the Melbourne Knights do, it would
not be wise to sideline the club’s Greek past, nor the name ‘South Melbourne
Hellas’. Instead, that past should be used in a way to show strong roots
leading forward to the present, showcasing a club that is comfortable in its
own skin, neither hopelessly tied to the past, but not ashamed of it either.
To that end,
some space will be need to be dedicated in one way or another to noting the
histories of the three predecessor clubs, as well as potentially creating a
space for the South Melbourne Women in the event that they become reunited with
the main body of the club.
In
conclusion, the chief aims of any South Melbourne Hellas museum should be as
follows:
- To provide a cogent and linear narrative version of the club’s history.
- To provide a sense of pride for those at the club, whether long-time supporters or new fans.
- To provide a visceral (or felt/emotional) sense of the club’s culture.
- To provide a demonstration to the wider South Melbourne family that the club is serious about its history, and that it can therefore be trusted as a home for (elements of) people’s personal collections.
